My phone vibrated.
“Damn it.” I pulled it out. “I’m sure this is Kazimir.”
To my surprise, it wasn’t someone calling. A strange number had texted me a picture. I pressed on the image. It downloaded. Horror hit me as I looked at the picture. “Fuck. What does God want from me?”
“What?” Naveen walked over and looked at it. “We are triple-fucked.”
The image showed Valentina in a chair with duct tape over her mouth. Leonid stood next to her, holding Natalya in his arms. A text message came in that said, Call me.
“Let’s go.” I dialed the number and rushed off. When the person on the line picked up, I spoke. “What do you want?”
Leonid’s voice came on. “It took some digging to find your secret, but I did. Congratulations. It’s a girl.”
My body drummed with fury. “You want me? Then let’s keep this between us.”
“Did you keep it between us when you killed my brother?”
“Listen. I will do anything. Please. That’s the Lion’s niece you hold in your arms.” I made it to the front of the club, shoved the door open, and stepped outside. “Let them go and this battle is still between us.”
Cold air hit my face. “Hurt Valentina or my daughter and you will have all of the Brotherhood after you and everyone that you love. There will be no Turgenev family after that.”
Leonid’s dark laugh rode the line. “My men told me that you ran off to Paris after you killed my Xecutioners.”
So, you think they’re dead? Interesting. I’ll use that against you, son of a bitch.
“I had business. I’ll be on a plane to head back to St Petersburg within the hour.”
“I would make that faster.”
“Don’t hurt them.”
“They’ll remain alive until you come.”
Naveen and Maxwell appeared outside. Both of their faces showed dread.
I spoke into the phone. “And when I come?”
“I’ll let them go, but you. . .well. . .you and I will have fun.”
My jaw twitched with anger.
We sure will, Leonid.
A baby cried on his side. My heart ached. I touched my chest, feeling more powerless than ever before in my life.
“Aww.” Leonid laughed. “I think it’s time for the little one to eat. Who knows with babies? You should hurry.”
“Don’t hurt them,” I pleaded with my entire soul. “Please. I’m on my way. I’ll be there.”
“You have twelve hours. Call this number when you land. Then I’ll give you the location.”
The call ended.
I put the phone in my pocket and turned to Maxwell and Naveen. “I have to go back to St Petersburg.”
Maxwell nodded. “Naveen told me Leonid took Valentina and your baby girl.”
I rubbed my face with both hands. “Once again, I’ve shoved everything out of order and put people in harm’s way.”
“Cry about that shit later.” Maxwell placed his hand on my shoulder. “Now, handle business.”
I nodded. “We have to get Emily back. Maxwell, take my limo and some men. Go with Kazimir. You’ll need to be my main contact person with him. Kazimir will want to talk to me and that’s fine, but. . .I’ve realized that he is in love. Which means he won’t have a straight mind to make the tough decisions. He’ll want to create chaos. This means you’ll have to secretly keep my team and I updated. Anything you need, text it.”
“Okay.”
I gave him Circuit’s number. “On my way to the plane, I’ll catch Circuit up. Maxwell, you’ll have the whole unit at your hands. Kazimir will bark orders my way, but keep them updated until I land.”
“Got you.” Maxwell walked off, stopped, spun around, and returned to me. “Yo. . .”
My body trembled with terror. I couldn’t get the image of Leonid holding my little girl out of my mind.
I cleared my throat. “What’s wrong, Maxwell?”
“Just in case we don’t see each other again.” Maxwell grabbed and pulled me into his arms, giving me the biggest hug I’d ever experienced. “Your daughter is going to be okay, man. Leonid needs her to be bait. There’s no reason to hurt them.”
Maxwell leaned away but didn’t let go of me. “You keep me updated too.”
“I will. Just promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“Don’t tell Kazimir about Valentina’s kidnapping until Emily is back with him.”
“I promise.” Maxwell released me. “Remember keep me updated too. Valentina may be a demon, but no one fucks with her.”
“I’ll let you know.”
Maxwell walked off and called out, “I’ll see you later, man. We’ll fix all of this shit.”
I hated watching him leave. For the past weeks, we’d been a strong team and bonded as brothers. “Take care of my cousin, Maxwell. Kazimir is going to be a lot today.”
“I’ll do my best. Em would kill me if I didn’t.”
Naveen got in front of me. “Do you want me in Paris or in St Petersburg?”
“Paris. Get as many hackers as you can here. We’ll need every resource on getting the Devil. Since the terrorist bombings, Paris has implemented a high-tech monitoring system. In this country, there are cameras in traffic cams, all public transportation, etc.”